Hundreds of Belarusians staged anti-government protests in Minsk late Wednesday, angry with authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko and his handling of the country's sharp economic downturn.

Dozens of protesters and journalists were arrested as the group marched through the capital, not carrying signs and remaining silent except for some rhythmic hand-clapping, in line with previous protests.

The protests were largely organized via the Internet, with an opposition video titled "Conquer your fear: become a hero" urging Lukashenko opponents to take to the streets on Wednesday and in the coming weeks.

Unrest has been growing since May, when the government, under pressure to pay back its debtors, devalued the ruble currency by 36 percent. The action led to panic among the population and a sharp rise in prices, despite a government price freeze on foodstuffs.

Bailouts from Russia, International Monetary Fund

Some analysts blame the government's bloated deficit on excessive spending by Lukashenko before presidential elections on December 19. He claimed a fourth straight victory in those elections, which were denounced as a farce and prompted even bigger protests and arrests of opposition candidates.

The economic crisis has become one of the worst in Lukashenko's 17-year rule. Minsk now needs billions of dollars in emergency loans from neighboring Russia and the International Monetary Fund to stay afloat. It can hope for $1.2 billion (831 billion euros) in loans from Russia, but needs an additional $3 billion to $8 billion from the IMF.

Russia on Wednesday cut electricity supplies to Belarus to force the country to make good on three months of unpaid power bills totaling 1.2 billion rubles ($42.5 million/30 million euros). The Russian power exporter said later in the day that it had received the payment and would resume supply within a few days.

Author: Andrew Bowen (AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Martin Kuebler